Reports

The following reports on Marlborough Rivers and Wetlands are available:

2011

• 2011 Monitoring Summary - Surface Water Quality
  Monitoring is carried out at 54 sites across the region. Some sites are monitored monthly and some annually. A mixture of physical, chemical and biological measurements are taken at each site. Approximately 50% of sites are graded as good or excellent and 20% of sites are graded as poor or very poor.

 

• 2011 Surface Water Report
  Surface water sampling of rivers and streams is carried out in order to assess the current state of water quality in our surface waters and to allow for changes or trends in water quality to be detected over time. Water quality results are summarised and grades (Excellent – Very Poor) are assigned to each site.

 

•  Rai Catchment Management Plan  
  Prepared for Marlborough District Council by NIWA. Although water quality in the Rai River and its tributaries is generally quite good – on an average annual basis – there are times of the year when this is not the case (notably during summer low-flows) when inputs from pastoral agriculture adversely affect the river system.

2010

• 2010 Monitoring Summary - Surface Water Quality
  State of the Environment (SoE) surface water quality monitoring takes a catchment management approach to water quality monitoring. One of the objectives of SoE water quality monitoring is to assess changes in water quality over time and to relate these changes to land use practices.

 

• 2010 Surface Water Report
  Marlborough's Surface Water Quality monitoring programme for state of the environment reporting was revised in 2007. The revision incorporated a catchment management approach to water quality monitoring.

2009

• Mill Stream Report 2009
  This report looks at water quality at a number of sites along Excels Streams and Mill Stream in the Wairau Valley over the course of a year and compares water quality on a temporal and spatial scale. Results are assessed against commonly used guidelines to determine the 'state' of water quality in Mill Stream.

2006

• Flow Management in Marlborough's Small Streams
  This report reviews the approaches that could be used by the Marlborough District Council to guide flow management and suggest a defensible process for making decisions on allocation limits and minimum flows from small streams.

2003

• A Pilot Study of the Ecology of Small Streams in the Marlborough Sounds
  This pilot study focused on Category 3 streams in Queen Charlotte Sound and aimed to characterise the ecological values of these streams and identify if water abstraction may threaten these values.

2002

• Ecological Assessments of Spring-fed streams on the Wairau Plain
  This report is the first step in deriving an ecological assessment of the Wairau Plain springs.

2000

• The Ecology of Spring Creek - Awarua
  This report presents the results of a year long 2000 study and although it does not attempt to find solutions to all the problems identified during discussions and fieldwork, it does offer information on the condition of the creek and recommendations for further action